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Friday, March 9, 2018

Canadian military members banned from associating with outlaw bikers

Toronto, Ontario, CA (March 9, 2018) BTN — The Department of
National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces have issued a nationwide general
order banning members of Canada’s military from associating with a variety of
groups, including outlaw biker clubs.

The general order was issued in February, almost four years
after a military police intelligence report warned that some active and retired
troops have an uncomfortably close alliance with outlaw motorcycle clubs.

The February 2018 general order addresses several banned
groups. Among other things, it warns members that they must avoid any
association that a member of the military “knows, or ought to know, promote
racism, sexism, misogyny, violence, xenophobia, homophobia, ableism and
discriminatory views with respect to particular religions or faiths.”

Bikers hanging a banner outside the Hells Angels Nomads compound before their Canada Run on July 22, 2016 in Carlsbad Springs, Ont.

It also bars members from “participation in an activity of,
or membership in, a group or organization that a CAF (Canadian Armed Forces)
member knows, or ought to know, is connected with criminal activities…”

A Canadian Forces spokesperson told the Star that this
includes a ban on associating with outlaw biker gangs. In Canada, the Hells
Angels and Outlaws are considered by police to be outlaw biker gangs.

The 2018 general order follows a July 2014 report obtained
by the Star under the Access to Information Act which says that some 155 active
and retired military personnel associate with outlaw bikers, “threatening
security clearances and reliability, and impacting on CAF operations.”

In the heavily censored report obtained by the Star, 48 of
69 pages are totally blanked out for a variety of security reasons, including
concerns that its release might reveal the identity of confidential sources or
be related to investigations. The 2014 military intelligence investigation, called
“Operation Nighthawk,” notes that some 80 active Canadian Armed Forces members
and some 75 retirees belonged to veteran-based motorcycle clubs, called “V-B
MC.”

“Many of these V-B MCs are associating with .. Outlaw
Motorcycle Gangs (OMG), which are considered criminal organizations,” the
report continues. “According to the Personnel Security Screening Office
(PSSO), ‘CF members are of interest to OMGs (outlaw motorcycle gangs) in view
of their access to weapons, ammunition and explosives, as well as their
military training,’” the report says.

The report also notes there is a long and complicated
history between outlaw bikers and the military, and that several outlaw biker
clubs have military origins that date back to World War II.

“When servicemen returned from the war (WWII) they likely
found the transition back to civilian life monotonous or more than they could
handle,” the report states. “Feeling disenfranchised and cast out of normal
society, they searched for relief and the company of kindred spirits, and
perhaps to relive some of the wilder aspects of what they had experienced
overseas.”

A Hells Angels MC calendar from 2005

The report notes that original members of the Hells Angels
included American members of a World War II fighter squadron who painted
“Hell’s Angels” on the side of aircraft. (The motorcycle club has since decided
to spell its name without an apostrophe).

In Toronto, local Hells Angels referenced their military
roots in 2004 when they briefly put up a billboard by the Don Valley Parkway,
which included a picture of troops by a military aircraft with “HELLS ANGELS”
painted on its side. The caption of the billboard stated “Still fighting for democracy
& freedom.)

Since World War II, there have been waves of veterans who
have formed motorcycle clubs. Returning servicemen from the Vietnam War formed
the Bandidos, Mongols, Sons of Silence, Vagos and Warlocks motorcycle clubs,
the report notes.

Operation Nighthawk was launched in 2012 after investigators
with the Military Police Criminal Intelligence Program noted that “many
veteran-based motorcycle clubs emulated the structure and operation of outlaw
motorcycle gangs (OMG),” the report says.

“More worrisome were observations that DND/CAF members of
these MCs were rumoured to be associating directly and indirectly with members
and associates of known OMGs,” the report says.

The report continues that many members of veterans’
motorcycle clubs joined them “blindly,” with the intention of not associating
with members of outlaw motorcycle clubs.

The report describes membership in veterans’ motorcycle
clubs as “a gateway … to the OMG-lifestyle (outlaw motorcycle gang) and the
criminal environment.”

The report expresses uneasiness between members of
military-based motorcycle clubs and outlaw bikers, stating “it is of concern
that any association to these types of groups provide a possible gateway not
only to the OMG lifestyle but the criminal environment as well.”

“There exists the potential for members to be coerced into
providing access to CAF/DND (Canadian Armed Forced/ Department of National
Defence) assets/ expertise and information which can be used to further the
criminal enterprise of the OMG,” the report says.

“Currently there is no policy regarding a CAF member
becoming a member or associating with members and/or associates of OMGs,” the
report says.

“There is no policy or consistent order regulating or
banning the wearing of colours or other club identifiers while on DND
property,” the report continues. “There also is no policy regarding the invitation
of OMG members onto DND establishments.”